Day Four – Thursday, October 23rd

The fourth day of the Congress would be even fuller than the day before. Beginning, as usual, morning lectures, with lunch following immediately. In the afternoon, taking our first walking tour and then visiting the Musée d’Art Moderne at the Palais de Tokyo. Dinner at Le Vaudeville ended our day.

Lectures

Thérèse Bonney

Author of Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Thérèse Poletti opened the program with a lecture on photographer, writer, and translator Thérèse Bonney. Bonney settled in Paris in 1924, where she founded the Bonney Photo-Press Service.

Her photographs captured the spirit of modernism as it flourished in the French capital, ranging from studies of everyday objects to the work of leading designers and architects such as Robert Mallet-Stevens and Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann.

The Polish Pavilion

The director of the Polish Museum of America, Jan Lorys, delivered a presentation on the Polish Pavilion at the 1925 Paris International Exposition. Rather than emphasizing avant-garde modernism, Poland chose to showcase its rich folkloric heritage. Highlights included Polish highlanders in traditional dress and displays representing the country’s art schools.

The Belgian Pavilion

After the morning break, the lectures resumed with a presentation on the Belgian Pavilion at the 1925 exposition. Werner Adriaenssens, curator of the Decorative Arts Department at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels, and Tom Packet, head of the Documentation Center at the Horta Museum in Brussels delivered the speach. Their lecture examined two key aspects of the Belgian Pavilion: its architecture and its distinctive interior design.

Liu Jipiao: Father of Chinese Art Deco

Concluding the Thursday morning lectures was one of the most personal and moving presentations of the entire congress. Jipiao’s granddaughter, Jennifer Wong, delivered Liu Jipiao: Father of Chinese Art Deco, giving an intimate and heartfelt dimension to the story.

Liu Jipiao was part of the second wave of Chinese artists who traveled to Paris in the 1920s. A student at the École des Beaux-Arts, he initially studied painting before ultimately turning to architecture. He played a significant role in the design of the Chinese Pavilion at the landmark Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes.

Jipiao sought to merge Eastern and Western design principles, believing that this synthesis would help strengthen and modernize his homeland. Returning to China in 1927, he became a founding member of the National Academy of Arts.

However, the political upheavals that followed the Second World War forced him to flee once again. He eventually settled in the United States, where he lived in relative obscurity until his death in 1992.

Hearing his story through the voice of his granddaughter not only illuminated his artistic legacy but also restored a deeply human dimension to a figure whose contributions are only now receiving the recognition they deserve.

Art Deco Promenade in Passy

Lunch was at The Malakoff restaurant on the Place du Trocadéro across from the Cité de l’Architecture. Thoughtfully planned, our walking tour of the Passy district began just across from the restaurant. Unfortunately, by the time the tour began, the weather had turned, and a cold, wind-swept drizzle began to fall.

Monument to the French Militaries (1956)

Our tour began with the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918 designed and sculpted by Paul Landowski (1875 – 1961). Positioned against the wall of the Passy Cemetery at the Place du Trocadero, it commemorates the French patriots lost during World War I. Arguably his most famous work is the Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Our next stop was just across the street.

1 avenue Paul Doumer – Apartment Building (1937)

Located at the entrance to Avenue Paul Doumer, this building opened in 1937 and often mistaken as being about fifteen years younger than it actually is. Fidler’s use of balconies extending into the building’s interior anticipated a design trend that would become widespread after the Second World War.

John H Harges gifted this monument created by John J Boyle in 1898. to France in 1909. It depicts the first and much beloved America Ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin lived and loved in the Passy neighborhood from 1777 through 1785.

Passy Cemetery (1935)

The cemetery was closed to the public due to rain and high winds on the day of our tour. Fortunately, our Airbnb was only a block away, and Chris and I had already visited the cemetery—and would return again a few days later. The pictures below are from our non-tour, tour.

Both the entrance gates and reception pavilion are a design by René Berger (1915-2009). Adorning the pavilion are three bas-reliefs commemorating the fallen soldier of World War I by Louis Janthial (1904-1965). 

Buried here are many Art Deco luminaries including Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Pierre Patout, and Robert Mallet-Stevens. Every lover of the Art Deco movement should make a pilgrimage to Passy Cemetery.

 

25 Rue Benjamin Franklin – Apartment Building (1905)

Auguste Perret deigned the structure above using a new building technique, reinforced concrete. The central recess with bay windows and balconies as well as the step-back at the top were also innovative for the time.

Stunning ceramic Majolica tiles designed by Alexander Bigot add softness not only to the porticos but envelope the building.  And don’t forget to look down! The artist signed their work of art.

1 rue Scheffer – Apartment Building (1928)

The apartment building at 1 rue Scheffer is surprising in the fact that it opened in 1928, for it seems more modern. Architect Marcel Hennequet (1887 – 1949), use of undulating rows of bow windows across the two façades is very striking.

The exterior is of ochre granito (a material that mixes cement and marble, applied in a thin coat then polished) with white earthenware joints and white painted woodwork. The curved vertical “ribs” hide the building mechanics.

The iron doors and windows grates are by Raymond Subes and the ceramics by Gentil & Bourdet.

Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague  (1935)

Our next photo op brought us to the High School Chapel of Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, located at 12 Avenue de Camoëns. This prestigious Roman Catholic Jesuit school opened in 1894. Architect Henri Viollet (1880–1955) rebuilt the Franklin Street campus  between 1933 and 1935.

Closer views of the school’s entrance

 

Maison FL (1930) – Rue de la Tour

 

7 – 33 rue Raynouard – Various Apartment Building

Architects Louis Duhayon (1884-1963) and Marcel Julien (1898-1944) designed the apartments (below) at 15-17 rue Raynouard.  The interwar style building is concrete and stone masonry and completed in 1931.

 

Léon Nafilyan (1877-1937) designed the buildings located at 21, 23 and 25 rue Raynouard. The concrete façades use gold-tone stone to unify the three structures.

Undulating, curved mullions on number 21 above contrast with the angular bays of number 23 seen below.

With the exception of the prominent six-story windows of number 23, buildings 23 and 25 are virtually identical. The vertical windows provide light to the interior staircase and are a striking feature.

Architect Auguste Perret, designer of 25 Rue Benjamin Franklin, both lived and had his studio on the seventh floor of number 25. He later moved his residence and studio to number 51 rue Raynouard.

The average price to rent a 3 bedroom/1 bath apartment in this area is approximately €6426 ($7612.01) per month.

After turning the corner at 25 rue Raynouard, an extremely broad set of stairs greeted  our group.  Joining Rue Raynouard and Ave Marcel-Proust is Ave Marthe-Bibesco, named after Romanian-French writer, princess Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973).  Note the wetness from the rain which made them a bit slippery!

Across the street from the bottom of the staircase is the Parc de Passy. This is a public park open weekdays from 8-5 and weekends 9-5. The gently sloping grounds lead to the banks of the Seine and is popular during the summer months.

The picturesque but narrow rue Berton lay a few blocks away and brought us to our next to last walking-tour stop. Novelist Honoré de Balzac lived and hid from creditors for 7 years (1840-1847) by renting a house under an assumed name. The rear door exits onto rue Berton.

From here, we ascended a steep staircase and up to our pick up spot.

Auguste Perret designed the building above. Constructed between 1929 and 1932 it is an example of modernistic architecture. Although it appears to be one putti with two bodies, it is two wrestling putti crowning the entrance.

Boarding a tour bus, the journey to our next stop, Palais de Tokyo, took us by a number beautiful and historic sights.

Palais de Tokyo

Built for the International Exposition of Arts and Technology in Modern Life in 1937 the Palais de Tokyo houses the Palais de Tokyo in the west wing and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris in the east wing. The design is by a team of architects: André Aubert, Marcel Dastugue, J.C. Dondel, and P. Viard.  What is unusual is the division of ownership. The French state owns Palais de Tokyo on the left (below). However, the east wing belongs to the city of Paris on the right (below).

The large, bas reliefs, The Legend of the Sea and Allegory to the Glory of the Arts are credited to sculptor Alfred Auguste Janniot (primary artist) for the 1937 Exposition.

Over looking the plaza stands the statue, La France. Antoine Bourdelle (1861 – 1929) a student of Auguste Rodin designed the statue circa 1922  but, was not installed until 1948.

A monumental portico connects the east and west wings.

It is often suggested that Eliel Saarinen drew inspiration from the Palais de Tokyo when designing the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum and Library

Our tour continued in the east wing. 

Upon entering the museum, the first artwork on our tour was The Spirit of Electricity (1937) by Raoul Dufy (1877–1953).

Dufy completed this enormous 6500 square foot mural in less than one year and incorporated the likenesses of 108 scientists, philosophers and inventors into this work. Those portrayed contributed to the understanding and use of electricity.

Moved to the museum in 1964 after being storage for approximately 27 years it was originally part of the 1937 World’s Fair Electricity Pavilion. The mural received a restoration in 2020.

Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) created the central spider sculpture, Maman. It is a tribute to his mother and represents motherhood, strength and protection. Towering at 30 feet tall and 33 feet wide the bronze and steel structure holds 32 marble “eggs” suspended in a cage from the abdomen.  Created in 1999, it is part of a travelling exhibit.

The painting above teased us before entering the next exhibit. Tour Eiffel is a cubist expression of the famous icon of Paris by Robert Delaunay (1885-1941).

And speaking of large works of art…

On display are Several cubist paintings by husband and wife artists Robert and Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979). The cubist style used, dubbed Orphism, produces the illusion of movement by using contrasting or discordant colors next to each other. To add to the confusion, they named their work the same, Rhythme (Rhythm).

The bronze statues Lioness by Georges-Lucien Guyot (1885-1973) and Venus by Boris Lovet-Lorski (1894-1973) greeted us in the next exhibit.

Michel Dufet (1988-1985) designed this beautiful Bureau et Fauteuil (desk and armchair). The desk uses palm and ash burl woods combined with a chrome-plated metal base and handle. A python-patterned drawer and footrest accent the construction. The complimenting chair repeats the wood and python combination.

Eugène Printz (1889-1948) designed the Lignes brisées (Broken Lines) commode circa 1933. A open work bronze base supports the set of drawers. This piece uses patawa palm wood veneer with accented with oxidized brass  handles.

Henri Navarre (1885-1997) used glass to form this mask sculpture on the left. Júlia Báthory (1901-2000) created the skylight panel called la Chasse in the center. Maurice Marinot (1882-1960 ) designed and created the perfume and decorative bottle on the right. Marinot used heavy glass with metal flecks or bubble inclusions in his designs.

Gabriel-Georges Chauvin (1895-1965) designed the beautiful “le repose de Diane” (Diane’s Rest) seen center above. A student to Jean-Antoine Injalbert and Charles Desvergnes, he displayed his work at the  Salon des artistes Français from 1920-1930.

The glass enamel cup on the right and the glazed ceramic plate are by the husband and wife team, Auguste Claude Heiligenstein (1891–1976) and Odette Chatrousse Heiligenstein (1896-1989).

Les Sports designed by Jean Dunand (1877-1942) dominates the far wall of this exhibit room. This bas relief of gold leafed metal and lacquer originally decorated the smoking room of the Normandie. This is actually the second time we’ve seen this. The first time was at the Ocean Liners – Speed and Style exhibit at the Victoria & Albert museum in London in 2018.

Flanking the bas relief are  a pair of amphore vases (picture on right) also by Jean Dunard. The vases feature lacquered copper, gold and an additional technique called “eggshell inlay”. It is a mosaic of fragmented clean and dried eggshells arranged and pressed into wet lacquer.

Also featured is the equally beautiful copper Ovoid Vase by Jean Dunard. Futurism and cubism influence the design executed in a traditional Asian lacquer technique.

 

Louis Midavaine (1888-1978) designed this frosty folding deco screen circa 1932.  The divider uses gilding and lacquer and depicts polar bears in their natural habitat.

It was just a short walk – about 20 minutes – to our Airbnb after leaving the museum. We had plenty of time to freshen up and change for dinner at Le Vaudeville Brasserie.

Established in 1918, Vaudeville maintains its Art Deco decor. If you visit, be sure to look up and down!

Champagne and a never ending supply of tasty hors d’oeuvres started our evening. A delicious mushroom soup was the first course. Not pictured was the main course of beef bourguignon.  There appeared to be some mix up in the kitchen with this second course. Several people, including me (Chris), had to wait for our meals. Unfortunately, while my meat and gravy were delicious it was accompanied by undercooked carrots and potatoes. The third course was dessert. This was our first time experiencing a Rum Baba and it was delightful. All this was accompanied by choice of wine, non-alcoholic drinks and coffee or tea.

Our group spilled into the street and onto our bus after a fun night of mingling. It was a long but fun day. And we can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

 

Sources:

Websites

eutouring.com

parisisinvisible.blogspot.com

iranicaonline.org

theamericansouthwest.com

wikiwand.com/en/articles/Lyc%C3%A9e_Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague

mam.paris.fr

Written

17th World Congress on Art Deco© Program